Midnight Carol
by Medicine
Summary: AU. Kyousuke wakes up inside a dark prison with no recollection of what happened to him last night. Danger lurks as a White haired Guard shows no mercy, Whilst Kyousuke must escape the castle like dungeon in whole. What happened, and what exactly will happen? The witch seems to know, and the Princess and the Count seem to have worlds of their own.. WARNING: a bit Violent!
1. Awaken

**Hi. It's been so long, hasn't it? Well, Halloween's already passed, but I do believe the whole month of November is Halloween so..  
Anyway, Here's a Halloween fic for all of you. It's kinda rushed, so..yeaah. And the characters I used weren't actually IE, so there might be traces of OOC-ness here and there.** **Also, AU!**

**I'll leave this bby here and see if people are still interested in these kind of stuff.  
**

**Chapters are written in 300-400 words, by the way. Inazuma Eleven GO! Ain't mine, Of course. Let's Dig In.**

***Title has no relevance to the story.  
**

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MIDNIGHT CAROL

.

Chapter 1

**It was cold. **A faint sound of dripping water seem to have awakened the boy. It feels so cold, and his body was stiff..The ground he's lying on..It's hard, rough enough to give you splinters. As he opened his eyes, his first thoughts were: _Where is this place?_ It was dark, and the air was heavily moistened and murky—as if breathing underwater.

Every muscle in his body started to itch and regain strength. Grudgingly getting up with a heavy body, he noticed prison bars in front of him. He was inside the prison.

_Wait, this can't be!_ For all he know, his name is Tsurugi Kyousuke, Known by world as the 2nd, and crown prince of their Kingdom, God's Eden. How could he be imprisoned, There's no way for a royal blood to be sent in prison. What happened? Why is he..

Tsurugi shook his head in frustration. What happened..He doesn't remember. How did he end up in here? The more he tried to dig in his mind, the more his head swivel. Instead, he set the goal of _Breaking free from this cell_ as his main priority.

He'll deal with the bastard who did this to him later..  
.

Turning around, he observed his current position: Looks like the bastard wasn't contented with just locking him up; They'd even set a chain ball in his left foot. Like a real prisoner, hm? Tsurugi was aware he can't move that freaking Metal ball no matter what he do, so instead, he just tried his best to see into the dark edges of his cell.

Squinting a little, he could see white things scattered around the darkness. What was that? He's sure he knows.

Skeletons.

Rotting human bones. Remnants of past prisoners of this cell. Probably, the owner of this jail place—or whatever this is, was not only a disrespectful bastard but also a lazy bastard who couldn't even be bothered to clean up his cages.

* * *

Midnight Carol

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Chapter 2

**The bars were locked, as expected.** But apparently, that was the only thing Prince could reach from his position. Whoever designed this chain ball made sure that the prisoner doesn't get to walk away from it for more than 12 inches—and that's not even enough for you to be able to stretch your feet and jump around.

Looking through the bars, in front was another dark cell. This must be an array of prison cells, because next to it were more Cells lined up next to each other.  
.

Right then, The sound of a creaky door opening up made Prince Kyousuke to back away into the corner next to him and hide in the darkness. If the guards saw him awake, they may take him to their leader.._Or worse,_ cut his head off immediately.

The door closed, and Tsurugi could see a spine shivering figure enter this damned place.

Than man must be a foot taller than his highness, and a body times larger than his. He wore a full mask black helmet and iron clad armor from neck to toes. The only part of him showing his flesh was his chest and back full of dangerously huge stitches and slash marks, and long white and bluish hair that did not blend well with the dark atmosphere. In his right hand, he held a long and huge Halberd.

Prince stayed silent as he watched the man with cautious eyes..His aura screamed death and torture as he passed Tsurugi's cell.._A Beast,_ He could almost hear the dead's souls screeching behind his head.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" A hoarse voice screamed from his neighboring cell as a man's arm crossed his cell bars and clutched the Iron guard by his waist. Although Tsurugi could not see what was happening, he knew well that _that_ wasn't a good idea to..

_Slosh._

do.

The sound of something ripping made his heart stop for a millisecond, and when he turned to his bars, he saw part of the Halberd's knife..Now drenched in red. With the dripping blood from the Halberd came with was something that flew slowly, splashing red everywhere.

The man was screaming, but it sounded null to Prince as he watched an arm land in front of his cell.

* * *

**I honestly don't know if 12inch is short enough. (It's a ruler's length)**

**And as you may see, I decided to put TWO chapters in one! Yup, We'll keep that up till the end.  
**

**You may also notice how much randomness I up in here if you squint. Man, my head is broke!  
**

**I bet you know who the executioner/guard is. Well, then..That's all for now!  
**

**Review! And thanks for your time! Ja Ne!  
**


	2. Reveal

**I'm back..Phew. The original 3rd and 4th chapter seemed boring, so I made lots of modifications...Though it didn't really come up the way I wanted it to. We have lots of context here, so sorry for any kind of OOC-ness. and if the chapter is lame.  
Ahh, Also, sorry for the sudden writing style change! like I said, this chapters were modified.**

**Inazuma Eleven is not mine !**

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Midnight Carol

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Chapter 3

.

Three minutes..

Five minutes..

An hour, or maybe two. Nobody knows how much time had passed. The guard—_executioner_ have long gone away from the place. The fool could be heard from the neighboring cell, sniffling and shivering. Gasping for breath.

Tsurugi sat in his cell, eyes darting everywhere; Out, into the cell of a sleeping man in front.

Down, to the arm still fresh, pool of blood gushing through its bare flesh.

Back, into his cell rotting with the smell of old bones and skull scattered over, and lastly, into his chained foot.

The young boy sighed. He did not know what to do now. He couldn't move around and he was stripped from his weapon and goods. All he could manage to do was think about how he ended up in this forsaken place—obscene place unfit for a Prince.

Unknown place..Just where is he?

Future..Is there hope to be able to get out? He couldn't do anything, But at the same time he couldn't lose hope here. Heh, he's got a palace - A kingdom to run in a few years. There's no way he'll end up losing his life now.

..But how? How to get out?

Silently cursing himself and the gods, he closed his eyes and started swinging in his back, banging his head gently into the bricked walls behind him. No, he couldn't think of a plan..No solution seem to come up for this one-sided game..

_'Ah, phew! Thanks for insulting the gods, I totally appreciate that~'_ Tsurugi's eyes shot open.  
Was that a voice he heard just now? He turned his head around the place once again. No, nothing changed. _A hallucination?_

…

_'Hallucination? Fufu, maybe?'_

"H-Who..? Wait, where are you?" Tsurugi inquired the mysterious voice. Was that a person? Who? No one is here..except if it's another prisoner? No, it can't be. Maybe he's starting to get crazy..

No, most definitely not.  
.

_'Like you said, "A Hallucination". Where do you think hallucinations come from?'_ The sweet spoken voice asked. Tsurugi listened well, detecting the direction from where the voice is coming from.

It didn't come from anywhere at all; In fact, it sounded like the voice was coming from…His head.

_Oh great. I really am getting crazy._ Tsurugi brooded at his hopeless situation.

'Fufu~ you're a funny prince too, you know'.

"Who the hell are you?!" Shouted the distressed prince immediately. As the echo faded, it almost seemed like the place was a times quieter from before. But the girly voice just kept on giggling into his ears. Talk about creepy.

_'Right, My name is Beta.'_

"Oh". Tsurugi slumped back into his bricked walls, looking real bored.

_'What's wrong?'_ The voice, Beta asked innocently.

"Nothing." He hissed. "And what does a witch want from me?" He asked, almost imagining an evil smile plastered into the girl's face.

_'Ohh? And you know me?'_

"Only foolish people wouldn't know you." He replied sharply. "Beta the Ethereal Witch. You move from Kingdom to Kingdom, creating natural calamities and wrecking havoc. You trick villagers and children and kidnap them to be victims for your… _Inhumane Experiments._" The smile seem to grow larger in his head.

'Well, that's some astonishing description of me._' _She says._ 'But thank you. That last line was such a big compliment.'_ She giggled again, making the prince irritated.

_Insane witch._ He thought as he rested both eyes and mind. Not a minute after, he was awoken by a cracking noise, like metal being crushed into small pieces. To his surprise, the chains that connected him to the big ball of weight was no more than broken pieces of metal links. Tsurugi couldn't help but wonder.

.

"What the.."

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Midnight Carol

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Chapter 4

.

_'There. You can walk now.'_ Beta's voiced sounded, making the boy realize and arch his eyebrow.

"What are you planning?" He immediately asked.

_'Oh, that's a secret~'_ The voice giggled again. _'Now just wait till I summon enough power to break your cell lock open.'_ She said and turned silent. But the prince felt curiosity dig into him. Deciding to get a straight answer, he began to speak.

"Why are you helping me? Does it have something you could gain advantage from?" He waits for an answer.

_'..I can't say no, but..Heh! It's a secret~'_

Tsurugi heaved breath. "For all I could think of, you might just be deceiving me. How do I know if this is NOT a trap?" he said, suspicion over the girl getting stronger by time. She is a wicked person, very deceitful. On top of it all..She is a witch. She could be able to do anything she wishes to do.  
"It could be YOU who had imprisoned me here. You could be only playing me in order to save yourself from boredom."

...

Silence, again.  
.

_'…Don't believe me if you want, but just remember this: There is no escape from that prison without my help.'_ She said, making the boy feel taken aback.

"Just tell me why you're doing this for me!"

Beta sighed. _'I'm not really doing this for you, you know.'_ She said. _'I'm trapped. And I need you to help me get out of here quickly.'_

"A strong witch asking for help? That's an unlikely story."

_'There's a strong barrier here, you know'_ She said, voice sounding like a pout. _'Communicating with you is already sapping so much of my energy.'_

"I see, but, did you not think of a certain possibility?" Tsurugi asked with a slight smirk. "Once you break the lock of my prison, I could have all the chance to get out of this place without helping you. You wouldn't even be able to stop me because of the barrier."

_'You won't do that.'_ Said the voice, in which Tsurugi mouthed 'Why not?'  
_'This place is a maze of a palace. You won't be able to find the way out just like that. You'll need guidance; specifically me~' _She chuckled._ 'One more thing. You want to know how you wounded up in this place, don't you?'_

…

…

_'Then, come and find me'._

* * *

**I feel like Beta's a thousand OOC? or is it just me? Oh well, so..A new character has appeared! not much story plot-progression here, but the next two will have lots! I just have to decide whether to keep Kyou's cellmate or not. Hm, can the witch be trusted, I wonder..?  
I don't know if I can add the action part at the next chapter. (Yes, that's a main genre for this story, too!) I'll see through it.  
**

**Now then, thanks to you all nice people who Favorited and Alerted, and Bless you who reviewed!**

**Till next time, Ja!  
**


	3. Hope

**It's been long! ..I think? Well, I had exams last week so.. Anyways, Welcome back. This chapter is just a bit longer (since I decided to cram that part up..and the unintentional new char too) But I wasn't able to put the action part here. Wuuie. The next update will contain it, though!**

**Enough blabbers! Thanks for the reviews, favs, alerts!  
Inazuma Elezen GO! is not mine!**

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**Midnight Carol  
**

**.  
**

**Chapter 5**

Neither spoke after the events. Of course, it wasn't because of anything special. Beta the witch had been silently concentrating on gathering her power as she had said, whilst Tsurugi had gotten up, examining the pile of bones at the very back of his cage; Thinking. Thinking if he had made the right choice.

Everyone knows that witches are one of the most wicked beings. Blindly following their words is like throwing yourself into death itself. But what can he do? He's trapped. And as much as he doesn't want to accept it, he had been a helpless—hopeless prince until that witch came to help. He would have ended up sitting in this rotting place doing nothing until his time comes.

But, was this really a good choice? Beta had been known as one of the most cruelest being throughout the region. Moreover, she is a powerful being. No one could ever catch her, Villagers talked about her with fear.

Every kingdom fears her presence in their land.

She's a sly and tricky girl, but He needs her power to get out of here alive. Whatever happens after he releases the witch..

He'll take responsibility for it. That's what he had decided. Once he inherits his father's kingdom..

He'll stop Beta from invoking danger upon the region. Even if he'll had to use force.

He has to return to his kingdom…Fast.

.

Amidst the old and brittle bones was something that glinted in darkness beneath the dead. Tsurugi quickly took notice, and dug his arm towards it.

That wasn't a good idea, as seeing that the bones may be brittle, but they were sharp enough to cut.

As Tsurugi got back up, he examined the metal in his hand. It was a scimitar, used by pirates long ages ago. It may have been made out of bronze, was old, durable, but not fight-usable anymore.

Whilst he was examining his loot, a familiar sweet spoken voice sounded.

_'What are you doing?'_ Beta asked. Tsurugi didn't even know why she's starting a conversation right now, when she had insisted on focusing on gathering her power. He didn't bother to ask, though.

"Found something." He simply answered, waving the piece of metal in front of his face. Then, for a second, the witch had gone quiet.

_'..That's it!'_ she said happily. And before Tsurugi could even ask her what she meant, the prince's attention darted towards the weapon in his hand.

It glowed faintly, and the metal felt heavier than it used to be. The faint light decapitates in seconds and revealed the old weapon had become like newly polished bronze. The edges gone deadly sharp.

_'Takes less effort~'_ the witch giggled. _'Now hack the lock!'_

Tsurugi only rolled his eyes. Whether the witch was happy that he could finally get out to help her or if it's because her work was cut easier, he didn't know. Instead, he just followed what she said and stepped up towards the thick chains that held the bars together with the wall.

_'I'll take a rest for now.'_ Said the witch as Tsurugi started hacking the chains. _'Once you get out, Hurry up and find me'._

_'I'll be waiting'._

The chains succumbed into defeat right after that message. Tsurugi stepped out with a sigh of relief and accomplishment—only to almost step on the fresh arm in front of his cell.

Tsurugi turned to his sides. To his left was a wooden door no more than 10 steps away, and to the right was more cells lined up towards the hollow distance, it was like darkness trying to consume the whole area.

He turned towards the door, but before he could even step, a voice called from behind.

"W-Wait..!" the voice said. And Tsurugi could vaguely remember hearing that voice before.  
.

…Ah, It's that person who owns the almost-stepped-on arm.

.

Tsurugi quickly turned around. He saw a hand grabbing at the bars next to his open cage. "..What." He intended to ask, but sounded like an annoyed reply.

..Maybe he really was annoyed at that person. But mostly, he felt pity for him.

He must have been really scared and desperate that time.

"Help..Help me.." The weak voice pleaded. Slowly, the prince made his way towards the unknown person's cell.  
.

It was a boy no more than or less young than his highness. His tired gray eyes showed signs of crying, and his brown hair was messed up as if he had been pulling on them for quite a while. His cut off arm was now wrapped in a white cloth soaked with his blood.  
.

And maybe, the fact that pain and fear was so evident in his face was what made Tsurugi start hacking the chains broken. Sadness seemed to have overwhelmed the boy's face, but when the chains cracked, there, a light of happiness shone in his eyes.

"Thank.. Thank you very much!"

Tsurugi felt the uneasiness and uncertainty he had been feeling was suddenly reduced. "Will that be alright?" He asked, pointing towards his new companion's amputated arm.

"I..Yeah, It won't get infected." The boy smiled a little, and fished out with his good hand what seemed to be is a box of medicine and aid from his pocket.

"They didn't take that from you?" The boy shook his head. "Never mind. Let's get out of here."

They took off, and when they crossed the prince's cell, darkness passed the boy's face. He shivered at the sight of the arm that was once a part of his body. He quickly diverted his attention to his savior.

..He looked vaguely familiar.

.

"Um, By the way, I'm..Tenma. Matsukaze Tenma." The boy said, his voice still a bit sore. "Thank you again for helping me."

"It's nothing." The other responded, his hand wrapped around the wooden door's handle.

What lies ahead is a great uncertainty, but there is no more turning back—there is nowhere they can go back to.  
.

"Tsurugi Kyousuke." The other gasped immediately, and Tsurugi proceeded to push the door open.

"Second and Crown prince of Raimon Kingdom".

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**Midnight Carol**

**.  
**

**Chapter 6**  
.

Inside a small, dark room, through metal bars where you could see thorn, blood red curtain cloths draped in every places, a single girl sat at the very heart of the room; back directed to the bars. She was crouched down on her knees, a finger drawing bizarre symbols in the dusty floor. With this she murmured words so faint as breathing, Incoherent words whispered into her Isolated room.

The door that led outside opened with a creek, followed by a man entering the room. The girl heeded no attention as he made his way towards the prison cell.  
.

"How are you feeling, Ethereal Witch Beta?" The man questioned as he gently stroked the skull in his hand. "Isn't this place wonderful?" He then chuckled, and the teal haired girl stopped her whispering.

"Better than ever, I admit." She smiled. "How about you..Duke?"  
"..Alas, that title doesn't really suit you at all." The man simply smirked, as Beta turned her head. "..Correct, Am I?

.  
…Gamma."  
.

"Of course, I does not suit me. I, after all, should be called a king. No, an _Emperor_. That is the right word." His smirk spread with glee. The witch, however, was not amused, as she turned back and whispered again into the wind,

_'Foolish, indigent simpleton.'_

"What have you been doing in this place, I wonder?" The Albino haired asked, completely oblivious of the remark lost in the dark room. He turned from side to side, as if the sight of the room was amusing.

Beta raised her head a little, answering with a rather sarcastic tone. "You wonder..? In a small cage like this; No furniture, windows, plain, boring and whatsoever..Oh, I wonder what I could do in this place. I really wonder." But the duke only laughed as if what she had said was a joke.

"Oh, Beta..You are a feared witch in all kingdoms. Not even the royal knights of holy palaces can't lay their hands on your unbreakable magic. What can you do in this place, you ask?

..Heh. Don't make me laugh." He looked at the witch with a confident smile. The witch however, had returned back to drawing in the dust of her cell floor.

"You could do anything you want to." Gamma impelled to continue. "You could kill me right now if you wanted to. You could get out and esca—"

"I thank you for your compliments. I appreciate that the enemy seem to think I could defeat him within a snap of my finger." Beta cut off immediately with a smile so sweet as she turned back to the man.

"But you know.." She turned back to the walls once again, her voice fainting.

…

"The barrier is really strong, isn't it?"  
.

The duke smiled once again. "Whatever you're thinking of, as long as you stay good and not try to escape, you're free to do whatever you want." With that, the man turned and left.

"Do what I want as long as I try not to escape?" The witch smirked. "I'll use that honor."

…

"In a twisted way I can pull of."

.

**….**

**….**

**….**

"How was it? All according to plan, yes?" He caressed the skull as he walked.

"..Oh, She hasn't accepted my offer yet."

"…You're right. Nevertheless, she will comply soon."

"She will be my queen, Yes? Princess of Chrono Kingdom."

"And then, I will become Emperor. Everyone will be under my grasp."

"We're so close." He continued to smile, still stroking the skull. "It's my turn to look down upon the people."

He sat into the throne, chuckling darkly to himself.

…

"Of course you'll be with me! Did you think I would leave you..?" He continued to pat the skull like a cat. "Hah..hahaha. The kingdom will be mine..And then I'll claim the other kingdom as well."

"and the whole world will grovel into my feet."

"Haha..ha.."

The darkness was stiff, but a maniacal laughter could be heard echoing into the endless corridor..

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**Das! First of all, I'm sorry if Gamma's OOC (though he really is supposed to be-Why? Because..just re-read that last part)  
**

**Tenma wasn't supposed to be in the story (that role, too) so sorry for cutting his arm. Also, if your curious, his arm was cut from half of his lower arm. (or ulna and radius. Wte you wanna call it).  
**

**I can't wait to write the fighting scene! Thanks again for your all readers!  
**

**I appreciate all kinds of motivational stuff (or signs that you definitely are reading). So yah..I'm off now!  
**

**See ya once again!  
**


	4. Blade

**Hello. It's been long hasn't it? Sorry for the delay, I really don't know if I wrote a good fighting scene..I dunno. But I had fun(and some curses) hahaha~ Etto, This is a long chapter over here! I have nothing else to say, other than sorry for Tenma.**

**Inazuma is not something I own. Thank you.**

**Hope you enjoy this update!**

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Midnight Carol

Chapter 7

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"Ohh..? It seems like someone somehow managed to get away from his cage…"

…

…

"No matter," he snapped his finger. "You know your job, _Dark knight._"

"..Affirmed." A shadow crept behind the Duke's throne, and quickly, it fled into the darkness.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Hey, do you think were going on circles..?" Said Tenma as he looked around the room—a small, square room consisting of nothing but a small pot that contained the only, and dim light source in the room. It was very dark, and the dark red color of the wall and floor was haunting.

The two had already passed by a thousand doors, but every room they moved on to looked exactly the same; Dark, cold, and with the evil presence that felt like something is silently screaming in his ears.

Each of these red rooms had four doors. One on every direction.

.

And really..

.

It's driving the poor boy crazy.

.

Who knows if they are moving forward? And what if they chanced upon a guard? Well, Tsurugi's a prince, he could definitely fight..

Yes, surprisingly for him, he never realized he was a prince. Of his home-country at that.

It seems like the prince himself saved him two times now—first, from killing himself inside the prison, and next, from keeping him from getting hopelessly crazy in this maze..

..No, labyrinth..  
.

Tenma relied on replaying his conversation with the prince on his head to keep him from becoming mind-broken. Earlier, when they had just gotten through the first 3 identical rooms, Tsurugi asked him,

"Do you remember how you got here?" He said that while walking, opening doors after doors.

"No, I don't.." He answered. All Tenma remembered was studying one night, and when he woke up, he was already locked up in this horrid place. "Is it the same for you, too?"

As suspected, he nodded.

"But how did we end up here..?" Tenma asked, but that question was left hanging in the air. Neither had any idea how they were taken here. Magic could be one thing, but Tenma's house—and of course the palace—was enchanted with anti-outsider barrier.

The barrier does not let anyone, or anything to cast magic in a particular area, as long as they are not excluded by the caster themselves.  
.

"That," Tsurugi suddenly spoke. "Will be answered once we find the way out of here."

As expected from a prince. He's so calm and composed even in a situation like this. Tenma himelf was just a commoner, so he'd never expect anything like this to happen to him..

But even so, This isn't really something that is expected to happen to a prince, isn't it?

"Ah, hey..maybe you have an idea where this place is? " Tenma said. "I mean, I'm sure you may have read a lot of books. This kind of place should have been written on one right? Or maybe about a magic spell that can break through the barrier..?" Tenma waited, but there was only silence. "..A-Anything..Anything that can at least help me make sense to this…

..this.." Tenma's voice shook. Again, once again, the fear is getting over him. It was already overwhelming his mind.

_What is this place? Why am I here? What happened? Am I going to die…?_

The words shook his entire body away from heat and into freeze cold.  
.

He did not know anything.  
.

He was starting to fear everything.  
.

What an ordinary life had suddenly turned into a horrid scene. What did he do to deserve this anyway? He was just an ordinary boy learning white magic…Couldn't it be someone else..—?

"Tenma, are you listening?" The boy flinched, then noticed the prince looking back at him, still with the calm gaze.

"Um.." Tenma was unsure what to say; he did not even notice him speaking.

..He felt a little grateful, though. His thoughts were cut off. What could have happened if he kept thinking about it? Probably freeze in a spot and cry like a kid again.

_Really, you're not a kid anymore.._

Tsurugi turned back his gaze to which direction the door he picked to enter is. He was convinced that he got his companion's full attention, so he spoke.

"I did read books in the palace, but I don't remember anything about a place _like this._ It doesn't mean there is nothing written about this place, though. I'm not a fan of books, so I didn't read as much as you think."

Tenma let out a small 'Oh', and then felt the need to say sorry to his savior for thinking he's one of the stereotypical princes in stories and tales.

"As for magic, Anti-outsider barrier is a very strong spell, but it's not impossible to destroy them.." Tsurugi snuck a glance at Tenma to make sure he was still listening. "You don't have to worry that much."

Tenma looked surprised.

"We'll find the way out of this place. And after that, we'll find the mastermind, and learn the truth about this place."

Tenma lifted up a smile. He was not just calm and composed; he's very courageous and kind of spirit lifting, too.

"..You're right!" Tenma was walking some space behind Tsurugi, but he could almost make out a small smile in the boy's face.

.

That was the end of their conversation. Apparently, Prince Tsurugi was not the kind of person who likes to have long conversations (Or maybe, he just likes answer with very limited words). But that was enough to keep Tenma going by.

He should have faith in them both..That's right,

_Everything will work out, somehow._

Tenma almost chuckled. Those words used to be his quote, but up until today, he never heard it escape his mouth in his life anymore.

He turned back his attention to their situation: still the same as ever. Tsurugi had told him about the place being a maze, and apparently, that was more than true. He'd already lost track of the time, but judging from his already-hurting soles, they must have been walking around for an hour or so now.

"Oh, look." Tsurugi stepped back a little in order for Tenma to see.

He had opened a door, and it was different from the red rooms.

It was a dark, cemented stairs leading upwards in a spiral.

It may have been as dark as a cave in there, but it was counted as a light of hope.

Finally, they can get away from this never-ending maze!

"Should we go?" Asked Tenma unsurely, but with the hint of excitement in his voice. Tsurugi only chuckled.

"There's no other place we can go forward to, right?" He said, then entered. Tenma felt shivers, but it's alright. He's not alone anymore..He walked up, following closely behind.

…

…

Tenma doesn't know whether to feel good that his surrounding has changed or not. This place was a LOT worse than walking into a perfect replica of the old room you've come from in every direction you take.

Every steps were real small, as if it was made for little children. His foot could barely step on it, and once in a while, Tenma would accidentally trip only to bump at Tsurugi's back (he was grateful for that). The walls are pretty enclosed, too. So there was barely any room to move around other than a straight line.

Worst part is, the atmosphere is a lot more unnerving than at the maze. Chills kept returning second after second. The brick walls had holes of triangular shape smaller than an eye..It seemed like a cold air comes from it.

Once, Tenma tried to look inside it, but nothing. It was pitch black in there. He'd thought the holes led to the outside because of the blowing wind, maybe it's nighttime already…

But why would it be THAT dark?  
.

He could think those were eyes too..

Yes…

Ever since he had entered this room…He couldn't shake off the feeling that someone's watching them…Like there are eyes in every corner of this room.  
.

Tenma shook off his thoughts. No matter how scary the place is..he must NOT get scared! He should start looking in a bright perspective..yes, because everything will be fine in the end.

…He sighed. If only he was as cool as the prince..sadly, Tenma was not just a scardey-cat, but he also felt like he's going to be a useless load of baggage for Tsurugi.

Well, what would he expect. He's just an ordinary guy after all.

"We've reached the top." Tenma could've not stopped and bumped right into the prince again if he hadn't said that fast. At the top of the spiral staircase was a door.

.

..And really, doors are starting to get creepy.  
.

"I hope it's not a maze again.." Tenma prayed. And he also hoped that it would be the exit. "We should go."

Tsurugi nodded, and slowly opened the door.

It made a loud creaking noise that dragged as the door opened all the way.

That dragged creak also represented the anxiety that burned in Tenma's chest, deeper and deeper as the path unfolded it's scene.

Another maze? The exit? More terrifying things? A lead to go out?

No, it's not any one of those.  
.

In fact, what was there to be seen was neither good nor bad.

"..Huh..?" came out a sound from Tenma's mouth. But not only his. Not even Tsurugi's.

.

A girl with a soft voice.

* * *

Midnight Carol

Chapter 8

.

"H-Huh..?" Tenma gasped again. Then, he practically pushed Tsurugi out of the way and entered the room, going straight for the girl. "Miss?" He said a little louder, but the girl did not spoke.

Okay, so Tsurugi DID find that push a bit insolent. But he'd got no time to argue about that now. Instead, he gazed at his surroundings.  
.

Still with the square room, but it's a bit wider. The walls are solidly bricked as well as the floor. There was a mirror, but when Tsurugi walked to it, his reflection was blurred and smudged. He couldn't even make out his face in the mirror. Next to it was a dusty cabinet.

Opening it, he saw equally dusty, and dull colored dresses. They came in different colors, but all of them had small rat bones around the neck, hip or sleeves.

Way to go with fashion, however you are.  
.

To the prince' disgust, the rats were REAL as it immediately emitted a strong and rotting smell of sewers and road kills. He immediately closed the cabinet tightly, and proceeded in his search.

Looking up, there was a small window. It was really high up though. So no chance of reaching it unless you had a floating ability. It was pitch black in there, though. So it might not be connected to the outside..

Tenma was still sitting in front of the girl, trying to communicate with her. There were prison bars blocking her and Tenma from each other. So she was without a doubt a prisoner.  
.

It is a special prison, though. Dusty rags of dirty white curtains flooded her room..and it was bigger than the prison Tsurugi and Tenma had come from.  
.

Not to mention that she's excluded from the other prisons…  
.

"Tenma." Tsurugi spoke. Tenma turned his head. "May I see her?"

Tenma quickly got to his feet and moved away, allowing Tsurugi to see the girl.

.

She was a familiar figure. No, more than familiar…

Even though her white, thorn dress was rugged and dirty with dust and blood, her brown, long hair was kept clean and orderly. The way her equally caramel iris dilated showed that she too, recognizes the person standing in front of her.

"Princess..?" The girl smiled widely.

"Prince Kyousuke-sama of Raimon kingdom!" She said with a strangely happy voice.

Tsurugi was right, this girl was the First Princess of Chrono Kingdom, Nanobana Kinako. Once, she and the second princess came over Raimon kingdom for each king to discuss about certain matters at their kingdoms.  
.

Tsurugi doesn't know a lot about her, other than she being a cheerful princess and—what the second princess told him—a bit off the head sometimes.

She doesn't look that much hurt, other than the blood at the tip of her dress..  
.

"Um, Tsurugi..What's this?" The prince quickly turned and saw Tenma standing at the center of the room. When Tsurugi walked towards him, he was shocked to see a white sword, it's tip buried into the bricks.

Tsurugi was sure that thing wasn't there before. Especially something that emitted a faint light as a pure white sword.

.

"Tenma, is it?" Tsurugi heard the princess call. Tenma must've nodded and walked towards her, but Tsurugi kept his eyes on the sword, examining it.

…

"Um, are you alright?" Tenma crouched down to see the girl eye-to-eye. This place had always been scary, and this girl was alone on herself so that's times two the scariness, but she's just smiling at him as if nothing was wrong in this area.

"You don't give courtesy to Kyousuke-Oujisama Ne? Tell me; are you a prince, too? Of what kingdom?" Kinako asked excitedly, and Tenma was taken aback.

Him? A prince? As if that would be possible.

Okay, so he does admit it feels weird not to give courtesy to the prince, but sometimes he just forgets to do it (Especially when he gets nervous and scared). He had also already asked if it was fine to just call him 'Tsurugi'..The prince had hesitated a little, but in the end he says it was fine, but not anymore when they get out of this place.

So..In conclusion..It's fine.  
.

"No..I'm not.." Tenma answered, and the smile in her face quickly vanished. That was unsettling. Just like he had said something so bad just now. "..Um,"

"Are you someone from the palace, then?" She crooked her head, and Tenma just shook his head.

She continued to stare silently…

"Um," Tenma broke the ice. "What is your name..?"  
.

"Nanobana Kinako." Tsurugi said, his focus still entirely on the sword. "First Princess of Chrono Kingdom."

"P-Princess?!" Tenma repeated with shock. Out of all the people he met here (Not including the almost-dead prisoners), everyone was a royalty. Did the mastermind mistake him as a royal blood? Is that why he's here?

That was when the door made a loud crashing noise, splitting into two pieces. Tenma immediately turned to see the commotion, but now that he saw what had come, he wished he was just hallucinating from the panic.

.

Tenma had yelped. The man standing there just at the door had white, pony-tailed hair, his face obscure from his black helmet and chest bare with horrifyingly large cuts. He darted his eyes from Tsurugi, and to Tenma, making the poor boy whimper.

He could suddenly feel the same sensation he felt when his arm was cut off. Cold, stinging and numb. Panic was a word you can use to describe Tenma as he shook paralyzed at the sight of his nightmare. Fear overwhelms his mind from the memories.

"I did not expect anyone to be able to get out of their prison.." His voice sounded, hollow and heavy. He drew his halberd from behind, showing everyone the massive axe that could chop even the thickest limbs. "Return to your rightful place, I'm giving consideration."

"Hmph," The guard's eyes turned to the blue haired boy. "The only rightful place for me to return to is my kingdom."

"Do you wish to die?.."

"Tenma," Tsurugi's voice quieted down. "I'll take care of this; get Kinako-hime out of the prison. Hurry."

Tenma gave a shaky nod before turning back to the prison bars. He knew exactly what's about to happen behind him; but seeing that would just render him move less. At least, He can be of help for the prince..even for just a little…  
.

"Please wait, hime-sama..I'll g-get you out of here.." He said, not only for Kinako, but also for the sake of his own courage.

"..Hakuryuu-kun?"

"Eh?" Tenma met Kinako's eyes. She doesn't look even a bit scared at all. Instead, her eyes are directed towards the white-haired enemy in front. "Haku..ryuu?" Tenma believed that was the name of the guard. But,

How does Kinako know him?  
.

Instead of wondering, Tenma turned his attention back towards the lock. It had a code unlike his prison, and it looked thicker than normal, too. He bet that Tsurugi's scimitar won't be able to break this thing…

_The code…_

_Probably works as an arrangement of gears or something, _Tenma thought. He wished he was right, because if that was the case, then he could use his wind magic to move the gears simultaneously until it clicks to the right arrangement.

He was getting ready to use his magic when an ear piercing clash sounded behind him. Tenma looked on his back just for a second, and then turned back to unlock the door.

.

Hakuryuu had charged, swinging his halberd down into Tsurugi's head. Gratefully, the prince himself was fast; he quickly drew the white sword from the ground and blocked the attack.

He could feel the recoil in his arm. That guy swings heavily, and the weapon itself was truly heavy, too.

Tsurugi deflected the Halberd and retreated some steps back in order to gain distance.

The sword, even though receiving that powerful damage, did not get scratch at the very least. It was as if it was made of diamond. The handle fitted perfectly into Tsurugi's hand, and the length of the blade was perfect.

The sword grew light whenever it hit something.

Tsurugi could chuckle, but the enemy in front of him was no laughing matter. He was a true warrior, not just any guard you'd see in town.  
.

Hakuryuu got ready to attack again, holding the long pole with both hands. He was moving a bit slow, Tsurugi noticed. But he doesn't know if it was because of his heavy equip or if he was going easy.

Either way..

.

A battle is a battle.

.

Both dashed towards each other, ready to attack.

Hakuryuu swung his heavy weapon from the side-upwards, opening a big blind spot in his body. Tsurugi did not miss the chance; he stabbed his sword towards the enemy's chest.

To his surprise, the guy blocked it with his arm.

With a ripping sound, the tip of the blade extended into the flesh and out. It was enough to stop the sword's force.

He kicked Tsurugi aiming at the stomach, but the swift prince was able to jump up before it hit. He didn't jump so high; he loosened the grip in his sword, and used it to carry his weight in the wind and deliver a kick.  
.

A direct blow at the side of his head.  
.

As Tsurugi withdrew his sword and leapt back, Hakuryuu staggered, shaking his head.

The red of blood trickled down at the sword's deadly tip. It was a beautiful combination of pure white color and fresh, dark red.

Hakuryuu turned back to Tsurugi, not minding his wound. And once again, he pushed forward.

Tsurugi realized he's enemy was more dangerous than he'd thought—but blander.

He evaded another bone crushing chop and was about to attack, but the enemy was far from over.

Hakuryuu did a chain attack; he swung his halberd up from the ground towards Tsurugi, who managed to evade once more within a millisecond.  
.

The blade's edge scratched the Prince's face a little, and the big chunks of stones that flew with the halberd also managed to add damage.

Tsurugi t'ched. From the wound in his arm, the guy sure doesn't know pain.

Hakuryuu continued his chain attack. The prince struggled to return composure as he dodged, blocked and parried each hit.

.

Then he heard someone shout, "I got it!"

It was Tenma. He must've unlocked the prison.

.

Hakuryuu's eyes moved, looking for the other who spoke. But Tsurugi only found this as an opening.

In a flash, he raised his sword into a downward hack and strike. Hakuryuu managed to block it with his halberd's handle..

But soon found out it was a trap.  
.

The clashing swords were near him. Tsurugi did not let the chance go, and turned his sword into fencing position, and stabbed.

.

A piercing strike into the chest.

.

Hakuryuu groaned in pain, but Tsurugi kicked him hard backwards for some distance.

The white staggered and breathed heavily. One look into the prince' eyes, they shot icy glares to each other.

.

Tsurugi gave a glance to his companion; Somewhere behind Hakuryuu, Tenma crouched down while casting a spell into the princess' foot. The girl though, only stared at the fight with big eyes.

He had to end this battle, quick.

.

This time, Tsurugi was to initiate the battle.

He dashed, slicing at the enemy, who parried his attack. Tsurugi quickly stepped back a little and continuously struck with sheer speed.

It was his turn to render the enemy fight less.  
.

Hakuryuu defended, but his weapon was not good for shielding attacks, so he attained small hits from every slash. If this goes on, he will surely lose the battle.

Tsurugi delivered a massive chop, and that was where the white initiated his attack.

He lowered his weapon to the side, undoubtedly surprising the blue haired boy. The sword struck him at the shoulder with a big crack. It may have hurt like lightning, but this guy wouldn't even show the slightest feeling of pain in his face.

Instead he used all his power and crashed his good shoulder right towards Tsurugi's chest. The boy flew back from the degree of damage, tumbling.  
.

Tsurugi coughed painfully. That guy had monstrous brute force. He could feel the cold and cringing sting in his chest.

Exploding with every breath he took.  
.

Tsurugi struggled to stand up. His sword was still in his hand—good..but…  
.

He looked up.  
.

Hakuryuu had leapt and is aiming right at him.  
.

His reflex caught up, and he whirled, missing the big blade just an inch from his head. The damage in his chest reacted; heavy coughing echoed the room as he continued to vomit blood.

.

"T-Tsurugi.." Tenma turned worriedly. He had to help him, but even before he could get up, the princess beat him to it.

"Hakuryuu-kun!" She called. The white haired boy did not respond, but stopped moving.

"Hi-Hime-sama, your legs.." Tenma said, but the princess doesn't seem to notice his voice. Instead, she walked slowly towards the other two.

It did not take her three steps when she felt a stabbing pain in her legs, she groaned a little, but dismissed the hurt. "Hakuryuu-kun." She cried again.  
.

This time, the white haired guard turned to her slowly.  
.

This could be a great chance to counter and defeat him in one strike..But Tsurugi was not able to move because of his—probably broken rib bones.

He can still go on, of course.

But he needed rest. Just to be able to move is fine enough.

"What are you doing?" The princess asked, eyes glued to the white haired boy. "You must follow the royal families' every command. You must listen to the royal family's every word, You must NOT raise your hand against any royalties, under no circumstances, unless given the command. You must not break the knight's royal code. That may be worse than beheading your empress."

Silence filled the air. No one knew what Kinako talked about, except for herself and the guard.  
.

A few seconds after, Hakuryuu walked towards her. "The Chrono kingdom's knight's royal code is no more for me; I AM no longer one of the royal knights."

Kinako narrowed her eyes a little. Hakuryuu was now standing in front of her, and his glare was cold as ever. "You're betraying us?"

Again, Hakuryuu did not respond.  
.

"Hakuryuu-kun, come on, let's go back together." She smiled her sweet smile from before, putting her hands behind her back. "Look, Kyousuke-Oujisama is looking for a way out of here, and they released me."

Tsurugi grudgingly sat up slowly, and met the princess' eyes; she was looking straight at him with her big eyes. Normal, but oddly her face seem to communicate something..  
.

_Destroy him.  
._

His eyes widened with surprise, and kinako's smile immediately brightened up.

As if she knew that what he is thinking is right.  
.

Tsurugi's eyes traveled as Kinako kept talking sweet words to Hakuryuu—possibly a knight from the princess' country. Tenma sat some steps at the back of the girl, a widely puzzled look in his eyes.

"It's fine, I'll keep everything that happened here a secret." Kinako kept on talking. When Tsurugi looked at her again, she was blinking her eyes, as if impatient.

Tsurugi summoned all his remaining strength. He was still in pain, but he was able to stand on his knees silently without making a sound.

This is his last chance. If he did not defeat that guy in one hit..  
.

It's over.  
.

"Imouto-chan will be happy, too!" Hakuryuu's face finally showed expression—displease. "You know, she'll be sad if you suddenly leave.."

"Sorry." He said, vanishing the smile in Kinako's face. "But Chrono kingdom will be no more; so are the other royal families."

He turned around and quickly got sight of Tsurugi, a sour face showing in both their faces. He had almost forgotten that he had someone to kill.

He walked towards Tsurugi, who struggled to get up on his feet with haste, and raised his halberd once again.  
.

A ceremonial be-heading.  
.

Tsurugi finally got up, but it was a bit too late of him; He won't be able to pull his sword before the blade hit his neck.

Heart rate doubled, beeping louder.

It may be the end…

…

…

…

_Slash_

_._

Hakuryuu froze. Eyes wide in shock. He turned his head a little to the back, the princess stood right behind him, her small hands turning bloody next to his back.

A knife in her hand stabbed him, from tip to handle.  
.

A cold steel that passed his body. Or was it just the coldness from feeling his deepest flesh torn apart?

Amidst the confusion the girl shouted. "DO IT!"

Hakuryuu turned back to his enemy. Tsurugi drew his sword, and swayed it into a semi-circle, ending in a stabbing position.

"Haa.."

Hakuryuu gripped his weapon, attempting to stop the attack. But he could not feel his hand. Only a zapping coldness that traveled his body.

Could she have hit a nerve point, or did she aim it there? Hakuryuu did not have the time to think.  
.

Tsurugi stepped, and with all his strength, stabbed towards the chest.

"Lost..Angel!" The sword grew a dark aura, engulfing the blade.

Then, like light flickered throughout Hakuryuu's body was a deathly flaming sensation. Like a flaming beast released in his body, burning, trying to be free.

This was the only part of the battle Hakuryuu screamed—screamed from the pain invoked inside of him. His voice filled the room, and soon died out as the aura decapitates from the sword.

.

"T-Tsurugi! Hime-sama! You two alright..?" Tenma quickly ran to the three. Tsurugi standing, panting heavily as cold sweat escaped his head, Hakuryuu who lied in the floor motionless—bleeding, and Kinako who sat behind, holding a Long kitchen knife gingerly.

"Wait..Let me take care of your woun—"

"Get out of here, quick." Tsurugi suddenly said, still panting.

"Eh?"

"Let's go!" Without wasting a second, he walked past the man, and held the princess up bridal style. Her body pressed into his biggest wound—his broken ribs—and he coughed, but there was no time to waste.

"Wait!" Tsurugi ran towards the door and down the stairs with Kinako. Tenma glanced at Hakuryuu first—a pool of blood was being created underneath his body. Then, quickly ran to catch up with the Prince.  
.

Tsurugi continued walking—swiftly and carefully, white Tenma managed to catch up to him.

"Tsurugi, is there something—?"

"That guy.." Tsurugi started in between heaves. "He's quite thick."

Tenma stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean..?"

…"We have to get out of here; quick."

…

…

"That guy will follow us; He is still alive."

* * *

**Ahhh, Sorry for the grammar(if there is one) and other stuff..if that scene was hard to follow. I..finished this chapter way long ago, thinking about how I could make the fight scene better, but alas. I decided to just go on with it.**

**PS. Nerve point is also called pressure point...I think.**

**So..The princess have arrived!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are welcome, and thank you reviewers!**

**Till next time!**


	5. Enemies

**Sorry for being gone so long! There's no real special reason for it. So anyways, here's the next chapter. Last time, Kyousuke fought Hakuryuu and managed to escape. (just in case you've forgotten). This story is slowly progressing to its end! (not like it have one-ahem, I'll explain at the ending note) So here, enjoy your read!**

**Inazuma Eleven does not belong to me~**

* * *

Midnight Carol

Chapter 9

.

"You mean to say…Hakuryuu's still alive?" Tenma inquired the wounded prince. He gave a slight nod and said no more. After some minutes of getting lost once again in the maze of identical rooms, Tsurugi finally gave in. He fell into his knees and coughed up a bloody mess in the princess' dress.

Tenma then insisted to take a rest first, and now, inside a small dark room, Tsurugi sat in a corner with Tenma, who was busy healing his wounded chest. He hadn't known much about healing spells yet, but his primary leveled power should be enough to repair the prince's broken bones little by little.  
.

Tenma then glanced at Kinako, who was staring at the pot of dim light intently. Her dress was ragged with blood all over it, and her legs—which was full of cuts and slashes—had been recovered. She could walk with ease now.

That girl was something. Usually, princesses are fully protected by guards and are taught how to be a perfect lady. They were usually innocent and frail.

But here she is, holding a blood stained knife in both blood-soaked hands. Tenma clearly remembers how she took that knife and hid it behind her and started to walk towards Hakuryuu. Also, they seemed to know—and have a good relationship with each other, but it looked like she didn't even think twice about stabbing him.

_She was really weird, after all. _Tenma thought before turning back to Tsurugi. He looked a lot better than before.  
.

"Will this take any longer?" Tsurugi asked said impatiently through a calm face.

"Um, a little bit longer." Tenma answered honestly. His healing magic wasn't strong yet, after all. And the fact that he lost a hand was making it harder for him to use his magic.

_If I learned more healing magic, maybe I can grow it back.._ Tenma thought, only to disagree. Growing limbs by magic? Funny idea.

But it wasn't impossible.  
.

…Probably.

…

…Hopefully.

.

Tenma's line of thoughts quickly dispersed as he heard sweet chuckling coming from the princess. "I wonder when they are coming.." She murmured happily. He first wondered, who _they?_ Tenma let his hope rise up by thinking that she was talking about rescue coming from her kingdom, but he had this weird feeling that she was talking about Hakuryuu and the enemy.

Worse, it seemed more plausible.

Tenma turned back to Kinako with a worried look. She was caressing the knife in her hands with her finger. That creep Tenma out a bit, but he asked anyway, "..Hime-sama, about Hakuryuu.." He hesitated a little. "You know him, right? Who is he, actually..?"

…  
.

Silence. The princess didn't even budge from her seat. Tenma exchanged questioning looks with Tsurugi, wondering if the princess didn't hear him.

"Kinako-hime.." Tsurugi started, catching the girl's attention.

"Yes, Kyousuke-Oujisama?" She turned around and stared attentively. Though, for Tenma himself, it was kind of creepy. With one more exchange of looks between the two boys, Tsurugi asked the same question.

"You seem to know that guard I fought earlier." He said.

"You mean Hakuryuu-kun?" Kinako smiled, in which Tsurugi nodded.

"What exactly is your connection to him?"

"Well, Hakuryuu-kun is a royal paladin serving under my father, the king of Chrono Kingdom." Kinako answered with a smile. "Papa deemed him to be a loyal and capable knight, and so he was promoted into a Paladin. His duty was to protect and ensure that the princesses—me and my little sister—are growing into respectable and proper princesses."

"A guard for his daughters, huh.." Tenma murmured. So that was why Hakuryuu wasn't so hostile with Kinako. But he said something about not being a knight from Chrono Kingdom anymore..  
.

As if reading his thoughts, Tsurugi asked next, "What happened? He said he wasn't a knight anymore…Being in such a high position, wouldn't he be executed for that?"

Tenma turned to Tsurugi with shock. "Eh? Executed?!"

"Hum, I don't know," Came Kinako's answer. She put a finger in her chin as if thinking. "He wasn't like that till..Well, now." Tsurugi thought, what could have happened?

"Wait," Tenma turned to Tsurugi. "Why would he get executed?"

"Knights of high ranking are to pledge their whole life into protecting their duty along with their honor and pride. Turning back from their job, they know that what they decided is embracing death itself." Tsurugi said, looking at Tenma. The boy looked troubled, as if that reason wasn't tolerable.  
So Tsurugi sighed and added, "High ranked knights are trusted by the king himself. They would know a lot of controversial and classified information about the ruler and the land. Execution is highly essential in order to keep things safe from outsiders."

With that, Tenma said no more. He knew the royal family had to stay safe and protect their land with everything they have, still, having to execute former respected knights…it sounded a bit too harsh for him.  
.

"Are you done yet?" Tsurugi asked, making Tenma cut from his thoughts.

He then nodded and said, "I guess your fine now." Kinako then walked towards the two, then crouched down at the ground to their level.

She smiled sweetly and turned to Tsurugi. "Kyousuke-Oujisama, I know you're a respectable and fair prince and all, but why didn't you kill him?" The two's eyes widened in disbelief. "Well, you know that he'd get executed anyway, so it's fine if you kill him yourself! Takes less time for his death, and more honorable, too~"

Kinako giggled softly, and even though she'd already finished talking, the two just stared at her.  
.

_What the hell is wrong with her?  
._

Tenma didn't want to disrespect the princess, But what she said about her personal guardian just now…

.

Screamed lunacy.

.

He admits he's afraid of the white haired boy, and rather live without seeing him ever again, but Kinako…Didn't she used to live with him? And, he was the one who protected her all through her life.

How could she say something like that so easily?  
.

Amidst his thinking, Tsurugi stood up and patted his dirty clothes. "I wasn't really certain about that fact at the time we were fighting." He said. "Also, I couldn't kill him even if I wanted."

"Eh..? You couldn't kill Hakuryuu-kun?" Kinako's smile faded. Both her and Tenma remained sitting on the floor, but hanging their heads up to meet the prince's eyes.

"He's stronger than you think he is. You should know best, since he _was_ your personal guard," Tsurugi turned to Tenma. "Hey, let's go."

"Eh? Um, Okay.." Tenma got up to his feet, and Tsurugi was already walking towards a door. Tenma then glanced at the still-sitting princess that looked so deep in thought. "Kinako-hime?"  
.

Kinako murmured silently, then got up. She stared at Tsurugi's direction for a time before running towards him. Tenma followed, thinking about Kinako's behavior.  
.

_Weird…_ That was what kept echoing in his mind.  
.

_She was weird.  
._

Then, the three finally left the silent room.

* * *

.

Above, into the room where a desperate fight had been settled a while ago, a man lay dropped into the floor. Although a vast amount of blood had trickled from his mortal wounds, his body remained warm and living.

He hadn't moved an inch of a muscle; mind hazy and half conscious. Not even when someone stepped on his leg vigorously did he wince from pain.

"Useless piece of trash.." He vaguely heard a familiar voice. "I knew I couldn't trust you for this."  
.

Hakuryuu slowly opened his eyes. Though black blotches of void hindered his sight, he saw the man's feet walking in front.

He heard a faint sigh. "Fine, I'll finish this myself." The man said. "I'll kill those rats with my own hands."  
.

"How dare they try to escape..?"  
.

"How dare they try to oppose me!.."  
.

Rattles and groans were heard from within the walls. The ground shook and bellowed, agonized screams coming from every corner.

.

The place went chill, prickling right into his bones.  
.

"Stop them! Do everything to stop them!" The man screamed, and the hollow voices bellowed as if taking command. That man walked out from Hakuryuu's hazed sight, and out of the room to follow the three who wished to escape.

* * *

Midnight Carol

Chapter 10

.

"Wha..What's up with this?!" Tenma shrieked as a bony, talon hand swept through his head. He managed to duck and run away from it, but he was far away from running away from shock and fear.

"Don't mind them!" He heard Tsurugi shout. "Keep looking for the exit!" And did Tenma do so. He ran, dodging razor sharp hands as he opened one door to another.

.

He couldn't quite interpret what had led into this development. At first he was just following Tsurugi with Kinako as they look for the right way, But then the atmosphere suddenly dropped into the ground, accompanied by a frightening echo of voices—groans of ghosts, as he heard,

And he wasn't quite wrong about that either. The walls then suddenly produced murky black mud, and the smell of rotten meat engulfed the room. Before anyone had known it, those black mud started to moan ghastly, and formed into a human being.

A Purple skinned, fleshless body of a human, to be exact.  
.

Tsurugi pushed those horrors away, and not surprisingly, the princess had pulled out her knife and started to cut them off to pieces. The sheer amount of them was overwhelming, and Tsurugi had told Tenma to find the way out instead of trying to fight them.

This decision surprised the princess a bit, though. "Run away?" She asked that time after slashing off an arm from the horrendous monster.

"Yes. And we don't have any time to waste." Tsurugi had answered calmly, slashing at the opponent in front of him.

"But…" Kinako pouted and crouched down in front of the zombie (or was it?) that she just killed. She then sighed. " .Dis-res-pect-ful." She stabbed her knife down into the zombie's face a couple of times, Tenma had to grab his mouth and belly to stop himself from puking.  
.

That zombie had released a gooey, greenish blue liquid from all openings—wounds, mouth, ears and eyes. And really, the squishy sound that it made as Kinako drew the knife up and down was just as disgusting.

The room had been cleared. But not the place. Tenma could hear more equally same groans and scratches from beyond the door he was next with. Somehow, he was scared and reluctant to open it.  
.

"I don't have any time to waste on this," Tsurugi said sharply, making Kinako stop and turned to him with a rather annoyed face. "That guy whoever controlled these people…He'll pay for this."

"C-control?" Tenma asked unsurely, looking at the pile of purple bodies in the ground. They did look human but…are they even one?

"I want to punish that person, too," Said Kinako to Tsurugi. "But shouldn't they too? Let's kill them all up? Hey?"

"Tenma, focus on running and opening new ways. We'll follow as fast as we can—and kill some while at it." Tsurugi said as he turned to the brown haired boy.

"A…Alright.." Tenma choked. Opening doors one another had a big chance of making them overrun with those zombies, and the thought of getting swallowed by them didn't fail to give him shivers.  
.

Nevertheless, he did not decide against it. He already told himself to trust the prince, and surely, this plan of his will work, too. Tenma turned around to the door next to him, and heaved a deep breath.

The door knob felt icy cold, and with a last glance to the two, he opened the door widely and rushed in. The cold and rotten smell of the zombies brushed against him, giving him chills, but he couldn't waste a moment to look at them. With a swift gaze around the room, he pin pointed the next door—one with the least zombies near it—and ran towards it.

Tsurugi had to drag Kinako by the hand because she insisted on cutting off more zombies.

.

They had been doing this kill-and-flee game of theirs for quite a time now, and the number of zombies rapidly decreased. Tenma was grateful of his swift foot; he easily dodged and ran away from the zombies that tried to harm him.

"Damn it," Tenma muttered under his breath as he ran and opened several more doors. "Where's the exit..?"

He opened another door and sped in—that is, he wasn't able to. Just as he step inside the room hastily he bumped into something hard and fell on the floor. "Ouch…" Tenma raised his head.  
.

It wasn't a wall he bumped into.  
.

It wasn't a monster either.  
.

In fact, it was a person. A person with icy blue eyes and a skull rested in his palms. Tenma stared and asked, "Who are y—.."

.

A flash of darkness engulfed his eyes, and in a swift second, he could not feel the ground.

He couldn't breathe either, and everything was black.

* * *

.

In the silent room, a man struggles to get up. He shook like electricity passing with every muscle he moved.

"K…Kina…" He mumbled with a dry voice. "P..rin..cess.."

He had to get up. He had to move on…  
.

…And save her.

.

The pain takes toll, but he was prone to dismissing the pain in his own body.

He had to protect someone. And that, he'll do.  
.

Again, he tried to get up. Every little strength he'd lost on the battle seem to come back; Every single wounds that was inflicted to him seemed to fade away.

In no time, he was back into his feet. Although troubled with breathing heavily, he was quickly regenerating.  
.

"Don't fool yourself. You'll die if you don't stay put," A female voice said, and out from nowhere a girl with teal hair appeared in front of him. "What? Hakuryuu-kun?" She smiled nicely.

"..Beta..." Hakuryuu muttered in between gasps.

"You might have a strong mental persuasiveness, passing off your brain's cries of hurt to this extent. But you do know you're about to break down, don't you?" Beta said then turned her head to her hand where, she opened them and a long purple scythe materialized. "It would be a shame for you to die this young, hm?" She said with her sweet voice.

"Why…" Hakuryuu gasped. "..And how did you…"

"Get out of my prison?" She finished. "I wasn't called the 'Ethereal' witch for nothing~" Beta giggled sweetly, only to turn back to her strong voice. "That idiot overestimates himself to the point of foolishness. Peh."  
.

Beta turned back to Hakuryuu, only to see him walk and take his halberd. Beta had a wondering look on her face and put her free hand in her hip. Although she knew the answer, she asked. "What are you trying to do?"

Hakuryuu turned to Beta, then pointed the tip of his blade towards her. He was no longer breathing heavily, as if all the damage he'd taken had miraculously gone. "Don't try to stop me." He said.

"What," Beta puckered her lips. "That doesn't even answer my question.." She then sighed. "For that show you put on moments ago, you sure are all worried for her, huh?" Hakuryuu glared. Beta remained unshook, though.

She then smiled, "Well, well. I won't let somebody like you get wasted."

…

"Why don't you just stay here and take a nap for a little while, hm?"  
.

"I have no time for your gibberish talk!"  
.

As Hakuryuu dashed forward, the witch watched.  
.

"How stubborn."

.

Their weapons clashed against one another. Hakuryuu was determined to finish the fight fast. Although he did wonder why the witch had appeared before him, he had no time to think about her motive.  
.

What mattered right now was _her_ safety. He had to catch up fast.  
.

What he needed to do was to stop the count from reaching her..  
.

Unknown to him, he was already late for that.

* * *

.

Kinako's feet suddenly came into a halt. She looked from left to right, wondering. Tsurugi noticed this and he too also stopped. He then said—but not before he slashed an upcoming zombie—to her, "Oi. Don't stop."

Kinako kept staring into the walls, making Tsurugi quite annoyed. "Hey—"

"Where is he?" Kinako finally talked. Tsurugi looked around.

Tenma was nowhere to be found.

"wha…"

"…Over here!" Kinako shouted and ran, surprising the prince.

"P-Princess, wait!" Kinako opened a door and left the room. Tsurugi was confused, where did Tenma go? Nevertheless, he ran after the Princess in fear that she might get in danger. He just hoped Tenma's fine, and he'd find him after he caught the princess back.

.

Kinako kept running, opening doors one after another. She didn't think much of where she's going, and it seemed like all the monsters had vanished. Anyway, she just had the feeling. The feeling of an eerie dark aura somewhere…

One last door she opened, and she stopped on her feet.  
.

"Oh…" Kinako stared at the familiar man in front of her. "Princess. You've come."

That man smiled at her. "I was expecting you."  
.

It was Gamma, Kinako realized.  
.

The person who took everyone here, and the man who wanted to marry her.

* * *

**Yes. I MADE YOU WAIT JUST FOR THIS. /Bashed/ I know it's short, I'm sorry, but I wanted to stack the battle for the next chapter. Yaaay, I get to write more action~~talking about that...I love you guy's reviews! So happy! I'll try to update faster this time, and possibly make the battle between Beta and Hakuryuu, and Kyousuke and Gamma kewl as I can.**

**As for the thing I wrote up there...Well, I forgot to tell you this, but this story is a backstory/prologue/sidestory for my upcoming fic (I'll publish it after I finish this, probably) and the reason this story has no end is..well, the end will be at the main fic, of course! well, we have an end, but i's open. You'll see :) I hope you read that main story one day, too. It's adventure, and more stuff to learn from wth this universe is.**

**Anyway...yeah, as always, thanks for the reviews! Sorry this chap was kinda lame...but, let's say it's the opening of the main event~!**

**Ciao, Minna! Thanks for your time and do review~!**


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